Synonyms for askant

Grammar : Adj

Spell : uh-skans

Phonetic Transcription : əˈskæns

Top 10 synonyms for askant

Other synonyms for the word askant

Définition of askant

Origin : 1520s, "sideways, asquint," of obscure origin. OED has separate listings for askance and obsolete Middle English askance(s) and no indication of a connection, but Barnhart and others derive the newer word from the older one. The Middle English word, recorded early 14c. as ase quances and found later in Chaucer, meant "in such a way that; even as; as if;" and as an adverb "insincerely, deceptively." It has been analyzed as a compound of as and Old French quanses (pronounced "kanses") "how if," from Latin quam "how" + si "if."
The E[nglish] as is, accordingly, redundant, and merely added by way of partial explanation. The M.E. askances means "as if" in other passages, but here means, "as if it were," i.e. "possibly," "perhaps"; as said above. Sometimes the final s is dropped .... [Walter W. Skeat, glossary to Chaucer's "Man of Law's Tale," 1894]
Also see discussion in Leo Spitzer, "Anglo-French Etymologies," Philological Quarterly 24.23 (1945), and see OED entry for askance (adv.) for discussion of the mysterious ask- word cluster in English. Other guesses about the origin of askance include Old French a escone, from past participle of a word for "hidden;" Italian a scancio "obliquely, slantingly;" or that it is a cognate of askew.

As in askew : adj crooked
As in cockeyed : adj crooked, askew

Example sentences :

Thereupon Mr B. looked at me askant out of his gipsy eyes, as if he thought me an example of the evils of female education!
Extract from : « The Life of George Borrow » by Herbert Jenkins

Gerard pondered these simple words, and eyed her askant, carrying the child with perfect ease.
Extract from : « The Cloister and the Hearth » by Charles Reade

Captain Jackman, in these few moments of pause in the talk, seemed to make an askant study of the commander, who sat opposite.
Extract from : « A Tale of Two Tunnels » by William Clark Russell

She was desperately conscious of me, watching me askant with the curiously commingled fear and trustfulness of a child.
Extract from : « McClure's Magazine, Vol 31, No 2, June 1908 » by Various

A few quiet tears followed these brave words, and Grace looked at her askant, and began to do her justice.
Extract from : « Put Yourself in His Place » by Charles Reade

Antonyms for askant

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019